Various surfaces are used to facilitate control of a craft's direction while in flight. The ability to control flight characteristics produces a stable flight path and permits controlled guidance of the craft. Flight controls typically include ailerons, an elevator, and a rudder. Flight controls in projectiles, however, may be as simple as using a set of tail fins in order to maintain stable flight along a desired path. Although tail fins help maintain stable flight, they are not typically used to guide the projectile towards its target.
“Smart” projectiles utilize additional control surfaces in conjunction with guidance systems to steer the projectile towards a target with greatly improved accuracy. Retrofitting existing, less expensive non-smart projectiles with guidance capabilities may expand their range of use at an overall cost savings. In some instances, a guidance kit is installed on a preexisting projectile. Though this provides increased accuracy, a retrofit may raise issues of reducing the effectiveness of the projectile.
For example, one method of adding a guidance kit to a rocket places a mounting flange between the fuze and the warhead. The guidance kit is then secured to this flange. This method, however, may compromise the integrity of fuze-to-warhead junction by introducing an air gap between the fuze and the warhead, raising concerns about reductions in the effectiveness of the projectile after the retrofitting procedure. Additionally, this method of installation results in a permanent alteration of the projectile, which may affect field operations.